The Marché du Film’s fourth annual Investors Circle concluded yesterday in Cannes with a strong showing of industry support, high-profile attendees and eight new projects from a distinguished slate of auteur filmmakers. France’s Carine Tardieu (The Ties that Bind Us, Just To Be Sure) emerged as the winner of the 2026 ArteKino International Prize, valued at €20,000, awarded to her project All the Little Live Things, produced by Antoine Rein and Fabrice Goldstein for Karé Productions.

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Held at the Plage des Palmes, the official beachside venue of the Cannes Film Festival and the Marché du Film, this year’s edition expanded into a two-day programme, drawing a curated group of international investors and financiers. The initiative featured keynote conversations and industry panels focusing on the growing role of brands in film financing, before culminating in a closed-door pitching session of eight previously unrevealed auteur-driven features, all seeking private-equity support.

A keynote conversation with Koji Yanai, group senior executive officer and director of the board at Fast Retailing Co, Ltd, the parent company of UNIQLO, and producer of Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, set the tone for discussions around cross-industry collaboration. This was followed by a panel featuring key figures such as Rebecca De Pas (film fund manager, Fondazione Prada), Elsa Huisman (founding partner, 111 Avocats), Philipp Manderla (global head, Red Bull Studios) and Brian Newman (CEO, Sub-Genre Media), exploring how brands are increasingly shaping financing models and long-term engagement with independent cinema.

Notable directors presenting included Grand Prix winner Juho Kuosmanen (Compartment No. 6), Un Certain Regard standout Felipe Gálvez (The Settlers) and acclaimed filmmaker Magnus von Horn (The Girl with the Needle), alongside emerging and established voices such as Atsuko Hirayanagi (Oh Lucy!), Noé Debré (A Good Jewish Boy), Emanuel Pârvu (Meda) and Ismaël El Iraki (Zanka Contact). The budgets ranged between €1 million and €12 million, reflecting a wide spectrum of narrative ambition, scale and international scope.

Since 2023, the Investors Circle has consolidated its position as a key initiative bridging auteur cinema and private capital, with several projects progressing to major festival premieres, including last year’s winner, Gentle Monster by Marie Kreutzer, which debuted in competition at this year’s Cannes.

Here are the eight projects presented at the 2026 Investors Circle:

Montjoie - Noé Debré (France)
Producer: Benjamin Elalouf (Moonshaker)

Wolfmother - Ismaël El Iraki (Morocco/France)
Producers: Alexis Hofmann, Sébastien Onomo (Special Touch Studios)

Impunity - Felipe Gálvez (Spain/UK/Chile/France)
Producers: Benjamin Domenech, Santiago Gallelli, Matías Roveda (Rei Pictures), Emily Morgan (Quiddity), Alejandra García (Ronda Cine), Sylvie Pialat, Alejandro Arenas (Les Films du Worso)

The Returning - Atsuko Hirayanagi (Japan)
Producer: Eiko Mizuno-Gray (Loaded Films)

Dream Come True - Juho Kuosmanen (Finland/Denmark)
Producers: Jussi Rantamäki (Aamu Film Company), Katrin Pors (Snowglobe)

CIGHID - Emanuel Pârvu (Romania)
Producer: Miruna Berescu (FAMart)

All the Little Live Things - Carine Tardieu (France)
Producers: Antoine Rein, Fabrice Goldstein (Karé Productions)

The Passenger - Magnus von Horn (Germany/Poland)
Producers: Jan Krüger, Roshanak Khodabakhsh (Port-au-Prince Films), Mariusz Włodarski (Lava Films)